Tuition, Or Jane Lane and the 28k Question
by tasukichiriko
Summary: Jane tracks down her parents to find out just what she'll have to do to afford a BFAC education.


Title: Tuition (Or Jane Lane and the $28000 Question)  
>Author: Kimmie Fandom: Daria Type: vignette Rating: PG Disclaimer: Daria was not written by me! I only wrote this fic.<p>Jane checked the number she'd written down one more time, then dialed. It had taken several transatlantic phone calls to get to this point and she really hoped that her parents were actually at this place which seemed to be in... Serbia? She crossed her fingers as the phone rang and hoped against hope that whoever answered would actually speak English this time so she wouldn't be forced to Google how to say Serbian phrases as she had with Japanese. Finally, a woman with a heavily accented voice answered in English, "Hello! This is the Hyatt Regency Belgrade. How may I be helping you?"<p>

Jane raised an eyebrow. "I think maybe I've got the wrong number, but let's just check. Do you have an Amanda and Vincent Lane registered at your hotel?"

"Let me just to check." Jane could hear typing and a short conversation she couldn't make anything out of, and then the woman's voice returned. "Yes. The Lanes are staying here. Would you like me to put you through?"

"Um, sure." Jane fiddled with her pen as the phone rang and took several deep breaths.

"Hello?" Amanda Lane's calming voice came over the line more clearly than Jane thought was possible from an overseas phonecall.

"Hi, Mom. It's Jane."

"Janey! Are you calling because Summer's kids ran away again?"

Jane's eyebrows knitted together. "I didn't think they had found them yet from last time. Anyway, Mom, I'm calling because I'm heading off to BFAC in a few months and they want me to go ahead and pay for the first semester."

"That's fine. We left you enough checks this time, right?"

Groaning, Jane bit down on her thumbnail. "Mom, for one semester, it's going to be around $28,000. I still have time to find some financial aid, but I need to know if you and dad can contribute anything at all or if I need to get a job, too."

Jane heard her mother laughing and a look of confusion washed over her face as he mother spoke up again. "You don't need to get a job unless you want one, darling."

"So, you guys have a college fund for me?"

"Well, no."

"Then... what?" Jane sat back in her chair and tossed the pen on the table in front of her.

"We have enough in the bank for that."

Jane sat upright again. "What?"

"Jane, I told you we won the lottery the day you were born."

There was silence for a moment. "I just thought you meant that I was special."

"You are special, Janey. Well, anyway, we used the winnings to buy CDs."

Jane groaned. "So, what? You bought early CDs and now you think they're collector's items and I can find a buyer so I can go to college?"

"No. CDs are a high-interest bearing certificate from the bank."

Suddenly hopeful, Jane clutched the phone tighter. "So, what? You won like 100k and invested in this thing?"

"Is k a million?" Amanda sounded confused.

"No. K is a thousand."

"Oh, well, whatever a million is, we won 100 of those."

Jane dropped the phone, then scrambled to pick it up again. "WHAT?"

"Janey, there's no need to shout. There's plenty of money for you to go to school. You can buy a house up there if that will be easier than getting a roommate."

Feeling dizzy, Jane moved slowly toward the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of orange juice. She took a long sip before speaking again. "You mean to tell me that for all of my life, we've been multi-millionaires and we never bought a house that wasn't falling apart?"

"Oh, Jane. We like that house. My kiln is set up there, we have so many memories, and if we went somewhere else, how would all of my butterflies know where to come home to? Besides, we had to wait for the CDs to mature first. It was right after your tenth birthday that they did."

Draining the orange juice glass quickly, Jane set it down on the table with a thud. "This explains so much. Like how you can afford to globe-hop as much as you do. And how you can keep paying for all of Wind's weddings."

"We told you that the checks were there for anything you needed, Janey. Did you think we only meant the bills?"

Sighing heavily, Jane lowered her head to rest on the table. "So, I could go to the bank and cash a check for ten thousand so we can afford to get this house actually fixed up?"

"Hmm... I don't think they like to give that much cash out. How about I call them and we'll get an account set up for you? I'll put enough in it for you to go crazy. Just make sure my kiln is safe and they don't knock down any walls that aren't already falling. And I think you need to get a permit."

The cool tabletop felt great against Jane's forehead. "Sure, Mom. Although, maybe you should do one for Trent, too? He keeps pawning his guitars off to get money to eat until the band gets paid for a gig. Last time, they sold it before he could pick it up."

"Oh, that's a good idea. He can use some of it to fix his car. Vincent told me that last time he saw Trent, his car was sounding a little rough."

"That car is older than he is, Mom."

"You shouldn't throw away things just because they're old, Jane. I thought you knew that. Aren't you always recycling objects into your art?"

Jane sat up again. "Mostly because the mediums that I like to use the most are on the expensive side."

"Hmm. I'll put a little more into your account for art supplies, then. But you can go ahead and send a check to the school, Janey. I'll have the bank call you to get the information they'll need for their records."

Jane nodded. "Yeah, Mom." She paused. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Janey. Now, remember, make sure the kiln stays safe!" There was laughter in the background, but Jane couldn't tell if it was from her father or from a television. "We've got to go now, Jane. We're having dinner with a wonderful Serbian potter who uses her feet for throwing."

"Sure. Love you, Mom."

"Your father sends his love, too. And tell Trent we love him. Goodbye!"

"Bye." Jane heard a click on the line and let her hand drop to the table with the phone in it. She was certain that there were more surreal moments than this to be had in life, but she felt like this was rivaling a Dali painting. She pinched her arm hard and winced.

She picked the phone up again and called a familiar number. A few rings in, she got an answer. "Hello?"

"Hey, Daria. I'm surprised you answered."

"I faked sick to get out of a Chez Pierre visit." Jane could practically hear the half-smile in Daria's voice.

"Good for you. Now, for why I'm calling, what would you think about being roomies in Boston?"

"Sounds good. Did you want to go apartment hunting?"

"I was thinking house hunting." Jane smiled and picked up her pen. She turned over the piece of paper covered in numbers and started sketching a house on the back with two girls frowning through the windows.

"Aren't house rents kind of expensive up there? I know I researched them a little and everything was way more than I could afford unless we found some way to split it four ways."

"Morgendorffer, let me tell you about the day I've just had..."

And that's how Jane Lane managed to be the first Lane to have and use a debit card, but only because she elbowed in front of Trent at the bank, and then offered to buy pizza.

The End. 


End file.
